DEATH OF A FRIEND

I hate to be a downer but i am going to a funeral wednesday for an old friend and long-time customer.Mr. Bill ran a diversified postal store on my route, he passed on to a better place friday the 14th.He was a WWII veteran and a great man, over the last 8 years he taught me a great deal in the 5 minutes a day I was fortunate enough to be with him.My world will be a little smaller now with his absence, thank you UPS for lettin me attend his funeral, he loved brown, he was from the old-school of business and I hope I renewed his faith in the younger generations. I know alot of you older than me have been through this also, but I am going to miss Bill, I know you will understand.Heres a beer for a great AMERICAN!!!

Men like him made this country. They were at the fore front when they were needed, then the vast majority just melted into their own small piece of this world to be forever forgoten. But they have soooooooo much that they can teach the "newer" generation. They are the true natural resouce that is not renewing. As each of them die, they leave a small hole in the rest of mankind, that is becomming HUGE.

I deliver to a VFW post, and they say that WW2 vets are dying at 10,000 a month now. It is not unusual for them to not be able to serve at a funeral because of the shear number of them. And there are fewer that are able to serve as a color guard for a funeral. We deliver the ammo for the services, and they are now getting at least 10-20 cases a year, instead of 2 just 5 years ago.

I guess what I am rambling about is this. Get to know the oldsters in your area. Talk to them. Listen to them. They love the company, and you can sure learn a hell of a lot from them. Do it before it is too late.

Im sure your presence was a comfort to the family. I at least try and get to the funeral home the night before. It helps the family!

Dannyboy I don't know if it meant anything to the family or not but I know Bill would have liked me being there but the first thing he would have said is "I can't believe they let you off for this small stuff!" I want to thank all of you for the responses, Mr Bill loved ups and the way they were big on service, I met his son at the funeral and he runs a company that fills a feeder everyday, Bill didn't but I treated him just like I would someone who did, because he would have if he could! I am afraid sometimes UPS loses sight of the small people, thats a shame because they are the ones who are most loyal to us, I am glad I got to be a small part in his life, I am a better man for it.Thank you all for the support.